Pause in the shade of the large White Mulberry Tree (Morus alba) to your left. This species is an import from Asia that sometimes crosses with the native Red Mulberry (Morus rubra). If you are here in the Spring, you might get a chance to sample the delicious fruit before the squirrels get it.
Now take a look at the ground around you and the small garden area beside the bathrooms. Find the bright yellow and red Blanketflower (Gaillardia pulchella). Blanketflowers are often treated as natives but genetic and historical analysis suggests that they probably came into Florida from the Southwest US. They are members of the Aster family which includes Daisies and Black-eyed Susans. Asters have complex flowers as you can see on the closeup of the Blanketflower. The outside flowers, called the ray flowerets, have one fused petal which sticks out to the side. The interior flowers, called the disk flowerets, have small fused petals that form a tube. Each of the flowerets will produce a seed. The seeds of the Blanketflower were ground into a butter by Native Americans.
If you are here in the morning, you may be able to find the blue petals of the Whitemouth Dayflower (Commelina erecta) near the ground. Don't confuse them with the tiny flowers of the Blue Porterweed (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis) that grow well above ground on a stalk. You will see this native growing in relatively dry, sunny areas (dry is always a relative term here in Florida). The flowers each last for one day but the plant blooms throughout the year. Whitemouth Dayflower seeds are eaten by birds and the leaves are eaten by Gopher Tortoises. I hear that the flowers can be made into a sweet confection.
You can also see the Yellow Alder (Turnera ulmifolia) which is also called the Ramgoat Dashalong (and don't ask me what that means). It is an introduced species from the Caribbean that you will see at other places along this boardwalk. It is presently under evaluation as an invasive species although many people like the showy yellow flowers in their gardens.
